Andrew Frimpong, 41, swapped his uniform as a firefighter at Silvertown fire station for a “nearly naked” suit to ride from Southend-on-Sea to Galway in Ireland in six days.

He joined nine other friends to tackle the Near Naked Man challenge from August 12 to 17 which saw family and friends sponsor the group to cycle 100 miles a day to raise money for the Male Cancer Awareness Campaign.

It aims to educate men about the disease to get rid of any embarrassment surrounding checking body parts for symptoms to improve early detection of cancer.

Andrew, who lives in Greewich, said: “We did get a few funny looks and stares from people trying to work out whether we were actually naked.

“We got a ferry over to Ireland and, as we boarded it, one of the staff called for the ferry master to come down because a load of naked men just got on his boat.”

Andrew, who has been a Silvertown firefighter for three years, said he raised around £1,000 once he collected cash and online donations.

You can find out more about Andrew’s cycling feat and donate to the Male Cancer Awareness Campaign by clicking here.